CVE-2021-47505 aio: fix use-after-free due to missing POLLFREE handling
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's aio subsystem allows local attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2021-47505?
CVE-2021-47505 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 May 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
aio: fix use-after-free due to missing POLLFREE handling
signalfd_poll() and binder_poll() are special in that they use a waitqueue whose lifetime is the current task, rather than the struct file as is normally the case. This is okay for blocking polls, since a blocking poll occurs within one task; however, non-blocking polls require another solution. This solution is for the queue to be cleared before it is freed, by sending a POLLFREE notification to all waiters.
Unfortunately, only eventpoll handles POLLFREE. A second type of non-blocking poll, aio poll, was added in kernel v4.18, and it doesn't handle POLLFREE. This allows a use-after-free to occur if a signalfd or binder fd is polled with aio poll, and the waitqueue gets freed.
Fix this by making aio poll handle POLLFREE.
A patch by Ramji Jiyani <[email protected]> (https://lore.kernel.org/r/[email protected]) tried to do this by making aio_poll_wake() always complete the request inline if POLLFREE is seen. However, that solution had two bugs. First, it introduced a deadlock, as it unconditionally locked the aio context while holding the waitqueue lock, which inverts the normal locking order. Second, it didn't consider that POLLFREE notifications are missed while the request has been temporarily de-queued.
The second problem was solved by my previous patch. This patch then properly fixes the use-after-free by handling POLLFREE in a deadlock-free way. It does this by taking advantage of the fact that freeing of the waitqueue is RCU-delayed, similar to what eventpoll does.
Weakness: CWE-416
Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-47505?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2021-47505?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2021-47505 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-47505 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2021-47505, UBUNTU-CVE-2021-47505.